South Park made a similar argument in "The F Word" (where the kids used the word "fag" to complain about loud and obnoxious people, but didn't have a problem with being gay). The problem is that the word "fag" still gets used as hate speech against queer people, or to justify abuse ("God Hates Fags", etc.) So you shouldn't throw the word "fag" around casually, even if you're not trying to be homophobic.
The word "crazy" is... most definitely an slur against the insane (as in, "mental illness of such a severe nature that a person can't distinguish fantasy from reality"). It gets used to justify abuse against people in psychiatric facilities, or people with a history of mental illness. So politicians talk about "crazy people", and policy changes in ways that cause real harm. It's happening right now, with the Florida school shooting ("we don't need gun control, we just need to lock up the crazies!").
It's kind of a mess. This isn't part of everyday life for most people (even most people with mental illness), but it's a real thing, and real problem.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
zaluzianskya and ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
skylark_photos
no subject
Date: 2018-03-29 03:46 pm (UTC)South Park made a similar argument in "The F Word" (where the kids used the word "fag" to complain about loud and obnoxious people, but didn't have a problem with being gay). The problem is that the word "fag" still gets used as hate speech against queer people, or to justify abuse ("God Hates Fags", etc.) So you shouldn't throw the word "fag" around casually, even if you're not trying to be homophobic.
The word "crazy" is... most definitely an slur against the insane (as in, "mental illness of such a severe nature that a person can't distinguish fantasy from reality"). It gets used to justify abuse against people in psychiatric facilities, or people with a history of mental illness. So politicians talk about "crazy people", and policy changes in ways that cause real harm. It's happening right now, with the Florida school shooting ("we don't need gun control, we just need to lock up the crazies!").
It's kind of a mess. This isn't part of everyday life for most people (even most people with mental illness), but it's a real thing, and real problem.